Jan Broberg revisits her kidnappings in the new companion special tied to the Peacock true-crime series.
After A Friend of the Family concludes next week, on Nov. 10, the series will return an all-new, 90-minute documentary as Jan Broberg revisits her childhood abductions. Ahead of the special's debut, Peacock shared a trailer for A Friend of the Family: True Evil, giving audiences a look at what's to come, including never-before-revealed information about another one of kidnapper Robert Berchtold's victims.
"My name is Jan Broberg and Robert Berchtold kidnapped me when I was 12 and again when I was 14. And with that my brainwashing began," Broberg says in the preview, as she revisits her past, sits down for an honest conversation with her mother, Mary Ann, and other family members, and meets another victim who speaks out on camera for the first time.
"Many harmed by child sexual assault and long-term abuse are still striving to heal and thrive years later. Through support and community, the healing journey of 'Thrivivors' can create a ripple effect towards change for children, and I am grateful to Peacock for the opportunity to continue telling my story," Broberg shared in a statement.
She aded, "It is my hope that with greater awareness and understanding of childhood sexual abuse and grooming, total prevention can truly become a reality."
The scripted series, meanwhile, continues to chronicle what happened to Broberg, who is portrayed by Mckenna Grace, and how Berchtold (Jake Lacy) slowly lost control of the situation, despite years of grooming and manipulating Jan and her family.
When ET spoke with Lacy halfway through the series' limited run, he shared what to expect from the remaining episodes. "[Robert]'s having a more difficult time, you know, getting people to do his bidding and that the ease with which he manipulated the Brobergs and the authorities has started to falter a bit," Lacy said. "His actions start to get a little more extreme, if that’s even possible."
"And you really continue to see that for the remainder of the series, that things in his life unravel further, or his control unravels even further and then he has to take crazier measures to try to get that back," the actor added.
In addition to Lacy and Grace, A Friend of the Family also stars Anna Paquin as Jan's mother, Mary Ann, and Colin Hanks as her father, Bob, both of whom got caught up in their neighbor’s decades-long manipulation of their family.
The series was also produced by Broberg, who worked closely with the cast and creative team on bringing her story to the screen. "This story will make you talk, shout, cry -- and it will make you angry," she said. "We were a loving, trusting, educated family. We were not stupid or careless. So, how could this happen in our neighborhood, where we knew everyone, and everyone was a friend? The truth is that most predators are not strangers but people we know -- people who can build trust, create special friendships, and separate family members psychologically."
A Friend of the Family: True Evil premieres Nov. 15 on Peacock.
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